Alex the Overlander
by holyshadow73
Summary: When a new overlander falls into the dark underland, he must now go on a quest to help save the Underland from the Cutters and a new Gnawer Rebellion that is steadily growing bigger. Rated T for obvious reasons! :P
1. Chapter 1

Alex the Overlander Chapter 1

Alex woke up in a sweat. Even for summer, today was hot. He got up and went to his sister room. He leaned over her crib. She looked so cute lying there, asleep. She was only 4 months old at the time. Alex's mother was at work at the time, so Alex had to take care of little Sarah. He felt that he needed some time out of the house for a while. Maybe Mrs. Cormaci would help.

Alex grabbed some paper and pencils and walked over to Cormaci's apartment door and knocked a couple times. After a minute or so, she opened the door. She was a sweet old woman who had to be in her 60s at least. "Mrs. Cormaci, could you take care of Sarah for a little bit? I just want to go out for a while." He told her. "Of course! But don't take long. Remember, I'm an old woman and I'm not as useful as I used to be." She replied. Alex hugged her and ran off towards Central Park. "Thank you, ma'am!"

When Alex made it to Central Park, he sat on a bench and started drawing. Time passed and eventually he got up to leave. Then he heard a knocking sound. At first he thought he had just imagined it, but then he heard it again. It was coming from the statue in the park. He approached the statue and knocked on it a couple times. He heard some more knocking in response. Alex slowly walked away and then ran off toward home.

He went up the stairs, instead of taking the elevator. When he walked inside his apartment, Mrs. Cormaci was found sitting at the kitchen table rocking his baby sister to sleep. She looked up at him. "Back so soon?" She said. "Uh, yeah. I forgot to do my chores!" This was not entirely a lie. He did, in fact, neglect to do his duties around the house. He went around, cleaning his room and the living room. He grabbed a big basket full of dirty clothes and took walked out the door. "I'm going to the Laundry room, Ma'am." He told her.

He made my way over to the laundry room and dumped all the clothes in a washer. He reached into his pockets and scooped out a few quarters and inserted them into the machine. After starting it up, Alex heard some noise coming from the grate next to the long row of washers. There was always noise coming from it, but this time, Alex could've sworn he heard voices.

He made his way over to the grate. He opened the grate and leaned in and listened closely. There were voices alright! He leaned in too close and fell into the hole.


	2. Alex the Overlander Chapter 2

Alex the Overlander

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Underland!

Alex had fallen through the hole and, boy, was it a long drop! He fell through, picking up speed as he fell. Surely he would die the moment he hit the bottom. Something, however, slowed him down. Air currents picked him up and slowed his descent. Eventually his bare feet hit cold stone. He attempted to observe his surroundings, but unfortunately, it was too dark for him to see anything. He started to think of a way back up, but couldn't find any ideas in his head. Going back where he came from was out of the question. The walls in the hole were far too smooth so he wouldn't be able to climb up.

Alex decided that it would be best if he just walked around a bit. Maybe, if he was lucky, he would find an exit. He wandered in the dark for a while. He could barely see anything, it was so dark. After a while he bumped into something. It felt… hairy. Alex squinted to focus his vision. Only to find himself face-to-face with a 5 foot mouse.

Alex fell over and landed right on his butt. He took another look at the mouse. It wore what seemed to be a look of disbelief. "You're an overlander?" Great, it talks too! "Over-what?" Alex asked. "Overlander. You came from up there, correct?" The mouse said. "Uh, yeah." "Well then, I hope you don't mind if I take you to Regalia. I imagine the humans will be overjoyed to meet another overlander! Follow me, pup!" He told Alex.

"What is your name, pup?" The mouse asked. "It's Alex and what do you mean by "pup"?" Alex said. "That is what most races in the Underland call children. I am Melcred. It's nice to meet an overlander, though you're not the first one to fall down here."

"So there are other humans down here too? What are they like?" "Well, they're not like overland humans. They are of pale skin, silver hair and violet eyes," the mouse told him. Alex and Melcred eventually reached a huge stone wall and a pair of huge doors. "Well, pup, we're here." Alex looked ahead. Two armored men were stationed at the entrance. They looked at Melcred and then at Alex. The entrance slowly opened up and a guard ushered them in and began to lead them through.

The city of Regalia was quite a sight to behold, that's for sure! All the buildings were carved beautifully from stone. Many of the residents of Regalia stopped to look at the newcomer. Alex nervously waved his hand at the residents. A number of the residents smiled and some even waved back. Eventually they reached a platform. They all stepped onto it and the platform began to rise.

When the lift stopped they got off and entered a room with a long table and no roof. "Uh, hey, why isn't there a roof?" Alex asked. "With no roof, Fliers find it less difficult to enter." Melcred explained. "What are the fliers anyway?" Melcred started to think. "I believe that they are what you overlanders would call "Bats"!" He told him.  
Eventually, the group stopped in front of a door, where two voices could be heard arguing beyond it. The man that led them knocked on the door. After a minute or two the door swung open. Standing there was a pale woman wearing a gold circlet on her head and what looked like a night gown. "What is it?" She demanded before noticing Alex. "Who found this boy," she demanded. "I found the overlander just when I was returning from my meeting with the crawlers." Melcred told her. A man came into view; he wasn't an underlander like everyone else. He was an ordinary Caucasian with brown hair and eyes. He was an overlander like Alex. "Well, I guess that means that you fell down the laundry room grate, right?" The man asked. Alex nodded asking, "How'd you guess?"

He laughed. "Well there are 6 entrances to the underland and only two of them are located in New York! In the laundry room and in the statue in central park! You don't look strong enough to push the stone that covers it, though, so it wasn't that hard to figure it out!" So the statue bore an entrance to this place? "Well, I bet you'll want to go home, right?"

"Well, I don't mean to be rude. This city is beautiful and all, but I've got my mom and my baby sister to think about, plus I can't leave Ms. Cormaci hanging", Alex told them. The woman huffed. "Well, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave at the moment."

"We are in the middle of war and word spreads fast throughout the underland. I wouldn't be surprised if the enemy already knows you're here by now", the woman explained. Alex couldn't believe this. He was going to have to wait for an entire war to end before he can even THINK of going home.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex the Overlander

Chapter 3

"Pick up the pace, Overlander", Luxa ordered. Alex, surprisingly, had learned a great deal about the Underland within the last few minutes. He learned the different species, their history, and even found out that Luxa was the queen of Regalia. Guess that made Gregor a king. She was leading him down the many halls of the palace. Soon, they passed through the room with no roof. "Excuse me, Luxa. Why is there no roof in here?"

"I told you about the fliers, correct", she said. "The reason for why there is no ceiling is so that fliers may enter with ease!" Alex understood. Besides, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't picture a giant bat entering the room by way of the platform unless something was wrong with it.

Eventually, they made their way to an arena with many Underlanders cheering, but fell silent when they saw the Overlander following the Queen to the center. "Mareth, Hand me two swords", Luxa ordered. A man with a prosthetic leg tossed a pair of swords over to Luxa who caught them easily, and then she tossed one to Alex, who didn't catch it as easily. In fact, he dropped it which made the audience laugh. "Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" Alex couldn't help but notice that even Luxa was laughing and even Mareth was trying his hardest to stifle a chuckle.

"So, what are we doing", Alex asked Luxa. She stared at him for a few seconds before saying "Is it not obvious? We shall fight and determine how much training you will need to defend yourself properly!"

"Are… you sure about this? I don't think I can beat you, even with my condition." Luxa tilted her head in confusion and asked "Condition?"

"Yes. When I get angry or excited I kind of black out for a while and go berserk. It's pretty weird and it's happened before", Alex explained. Now, Luxa looked shocked. "You are a rager?"

"A what?" It was Luxa's turn to explain. "A rager is a fierce warrior with great instinct and accuracy. They were built for battle", she told him. A rat or, as they were called down here, a gnawer walked in and said "In other words: A natural born killer!"

"Ripred, what are you doing here", Luxa demanded. Man, she sure is bossy! The rat snapped at her. "Calm yourself, girl! I came when I heard of the newcomer from the Overland and that he was about to engage in battle with you. I came to view the battle, but now I hear that this new guest is a rager. This means that how did Gregor say it? I call dibs, was it?" Luxa yelled, "I will not hand him over to you! He is mine to teach!" Ripred laughed. "Oh please. He's a rager! Either he's going to kill you or you're going to kill him. Either way, if I don't step in, someone's going to die!" What was he talking about? Alex may not be able to control himself well, but he certainly wasn't going to kill anyone. "If you want him to be able to fight and control himself, then he must train with me." Alex tried to suppress laughter, but failed to do so. He let out a small chuckle and then fell down on his butt again. "Ow! What the hell," He let out. He saw Ripred flick his tail around. Was that what tripped him? "You see, Luxa? There will be no fighting from him unless he trains under me," He told her. Luxa shot him an annoyed half smile and said, "Alright, Ripred. If you want him so bad, you may have him." Ripred whipped his tail at Alex ordering Alex to follow him.

Once again, Alex was led through the beautiful stone city. At one point, a little underland girl came running up to Alex. "Hi there," the girl said. Alex returned the greeting before Ripred turned around and snapped his teeth at the girl who ran away. "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR," Alex yelled at Ripred. Ripred got caught off guard by Alex's sudden anger, but recovered and snapped back, "YOU HAVE TRAINING TO DO! WE CAN'T AFFORD ANY DISTRACTIONS, YOU STUPID PUP!"

"SHE WAS JUST A LITTLE GIRL! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SCARE HER LIKE THAT!" Ripred twirled his tail on the ground many times. Then it happened; it happened so fast, Alex barely realized what he'd done. In a fit of rage, Alex had swiftly stomped on Ripred's tail. Ripred stared at him; a twinge of annoyance was evident on his face. "Step off of my tail, pup," he growled. Alex just plainly said, "No."


	4. Chapter 4

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 4**

Ripred stared at Alex, annoyance marking his face. "I'll once more, and only once. Get off of my tail, pup," Ripred growled. Alex stood his ground and repeated "NO!" Ripred managed to free his tail from under Alex's shoe and attempted to whip him with it. Alex took a few sidesteps to avoid it. He pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and pulled the blade out. Everything seemed to fade away. All but Ripred had faded from view. Alex felt this feeling before. It was the condition he had mentioned before. Alex's arm moved and so did Ripred.

Alex kept his focus on the rat, but the old rat was fast as hell. Suddenly, he heard a voice call out, "STOP!" Alex's vision came back and he could see his surroundings once more. He looked around and found that the children, especially the girl who had greeted him before, were shaking in fear. Alex began walking towards the girl, but she backed away as he approached. Then he heard someone shout out, "I will NOT have any fighting in this city!" Alex looked up to find Luxa riding towards him atop a giant bat with golden fur. Those must've been the fliers Alex was told about. The bat landed and Luxa got off, approached Alex, and smacked him across the face. "You are never to fight in this city, Overlander. Do you understand?" Alex couldn't see it, but he could feel that Ripred was behind him, grinning like mad. Luxa turned to Ripred and shouted, "And that order applies to you as well, Ripred!" Ripred just scratched his snout and sarcastically exclaimed, "Of course, your majesty," while making a mock bow.

Alex forgot that Luxa and Ripred were there. He was too focused on the little underland girl who had approached him before. Alex walked over to her and said in a soft voice, "Hey there. Sorry about that. I don't know what happened." Luxa sighed and told him that he was "Overcome by Rager instincts."

The girl didn't stop shaking and didn't respond, so Alex walked back over to Ripred and Luxa. Alex was about to tell Luxa that he didn't want to fight when his stomach growled. Luxa stared at him, trying to hold back a smile and suppress laughter, but doing a terrible job of it. She eventually stopped trying and started laughing. She stopped immediately though. "We'll have you fed in a few moments, so don't fret. Mount up on Aurora and we'll go back to the palace." Alex didn't know who Aurora was, but soon figured out that she was talking about the bat. "O-okay," Alex muttered. He climbed up and they immediately took off.

They ended back up in the room with no roof. "Sit, Overlander. Food will be brought in as soon as possible," Luxa told him. Alex took a seat and waited for about fifteen minutes before Luxa came back, followed by a number of underlanders holding trays of food.

A few other people came in and sat down at the table. Luxa looked at Alex and asked, "For what reason were you going to engage Ripred in combat?" Alex took notice that Ripred was also one of the dinner guests. Just before stuffing his face in a bowl of shrimp dipped in a cream sauce he said, "Oh yes, tell her why you were going to fight. I'm sure she'd love to hear it." Alex stared down at the table before telling them what happened. "The old rat was taking me through the city. A small girl came up to me and this rat scared her away," Alex explained. He stood up quickly, knocking his chair down. He raised a finger at Ripred and yelled, "What makes you think you can act so harshly towards a kid her age!"

Ripred laughed. "Don't laugh. It's not funny!" But that just made the old rat laugh even more. "QUIT LAUGHING!" Alex yelled. He ran over to Ripred, pulling his pocketknife out. Ripred whipped Alex in the chest with his tail, making Alex fall backwards. Alex hit his head on the stone table and blacked out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 5**

Alex woke up a few hours later. His head stung from the fall he took. He looked around to find that he was in some sort of hospital room. Gregor was sitting in a chair next to his bed. "Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness," He exclaimed. Alex held his hand where he hit his head and felt a bump. Alex groaned, "What… happened?" Gregor shook his head and helped him recall what had happened in the high hall. "You got angry at Ripred and he knocked you over. You hit your head pretty badly on the table and considering that it was stone, I'm not surprised you got knocked out. Ripred didn't get off easy from that. After you told us why you were about to fight Ripred Luxa turned her anger on him and the fact that Ripred knocked you out made it worse. She gave him one hell of a talk and I think she plans on keeping him off the shrimp and cream sauce for a while."

"I know you don't want to fight, but with that temper, I think you might NEED to learn," said Gregor. Alex sighed and told him, "Okay. I'll learn." Then he noticed someone was watching them through the window of the room. She had pale skin, like every other underlander, but she had brown hair and eyes. Alex asked Gregor who it was. "Oh, that's my daughter, Jillian. Since I'm an Overlander and her mother, Luxa, is an Underlander, that makes Jillian a Halflander." Alex just repeated that one word. "Halflander…" Gregor nodded. "That's right."

Jillian had ducked under the window when she noticed that Alex was looking at her. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention, she's kind of shy." Jillian took a quick peek after hiding and ducked back under the window. "SUPER shy," Gregor commented. Alex's stomach growled again. Gregor laughed. "I'll get one of the nurses to bring you some food." After everything had been said, someone came into view behind the window and picked up Jillian by the back of her shirt and carried her like that inside the Alex's room. The man dropped her in front of the bed and introduced himself. "Greetings, Overlander," he said. "Alex, this big brute is Mareth. He's a wonderful guy that had helped me plenty of times when I was younger. He's going to be your sword fighting instructor." The man walked over to Alex and held his hand out to him. Alex shook his hand. "Hi. My name's Alex. Nice to meet you," Alex let out. "And I, you," Mareth responded. Alex turned his attention towards Jillian, who was twiddling her fingers. Alex gave her a quick hello before he found her running out of the room faster than the roadrunner. Gregor and Mareth bust out laughing. "She's so adorable when she's like this!" Gregor said. Eventually, the laughter died down. "So, you want to start your sword training today, Alex?" Gregor asked. Alex only thought about it before saying "Yes". Gregor clasped his hands together, saying, "Alright then. Let's get started!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 6**

Alex followed Gregor and Mareth down the halls and out of the building after he had eaten. They led him back to the stadium and handed him a sword. The hilt felt heavy, but the blade felt light all the way to the tip. This sword was perfect for him. Mareth started the sword training by teaching Alex basic strokes. Afterwards, Alex practiced for a while on his own. After getting the hang of it, Mareth held his sword to him and told him that he was practice combat. Mareth took a swing at Alex, who had blocked the strike with his sword. After a few rounds of practice, Mareth nodded in approval. "You learn quickly, Alex." Alex shook his head and told him, "I've taught myself to remember important stuff faster than ones that are less important."

Gregor leaped out of the bleachers and said, "Well, it certainly shows." Alex sat down and took a quick breather. "So… what exactly are you guys fighting in this war?" Alex asked. "The Cutters are who we fight against!" Alex turned around and found Luxa looking down on him. "I don't think you guys mentioned the Cutters. What are they?" Gregor looked at Luxa with disbelief. "You told him Regalia's history, but not about the Cutters?" He said. Luxa kept her focus on Alex and said, "The Cutters are what I believe you Overlanders call "Ants", correct?" Alex nodded. "The Cutters hate us and wish us all dead." Gregor walked to Luxa and exclaimed, "We may have an advantage over the Cutters, though. As far as our intelligence goes, they have no allies. Not even the Spinners, who prefer to remain neutral, will help the Cutters in this war. The crawlers have always been in good terms with us and so have the bats. The Gnawers used to be our enemy, but now, most of them have turned ally," Gregor said. Mareth pat Alex on the shoulder and said to him, "You've done well this course, Alex, but now we must determine if you it is good enough for a real fight." And with that, Mareth had held a battle position, ready for combat. Alex tried to get into a good position as well but ended up looking like an idiot. As soon as Gregor marked the start of the fight, everything faded except Mareth and Alex. "Oh no, not again," Alex thought. After a short moment of swinging his sword around, Alex forced himself to snap out of it. Everything faded back into vision and Mareth stood with a couple of cuts on his chest and shoulders. Gregor stood there, shocked. "You're a rager!" was the only thing he said. An Underland man fell from above and landed between Alex and Mareth. He had bandages in his hand and covered Mareth's cuts.

He jumped up and a bat flew under him, catching the man, and flew up in the air where a number of other bats and riders flew. Mareth went up to the stands and took a seat. Gregor was apparently trying to forget what he had seen because when he started to talk to Alex to explain his next training course, his voice was shaking. Not from fear, but from excitement. (Not Happy Excitement, just excitement. LOL)

"Okay, Alex. The next course you will take is flight," Gregor told Alex. As if on cue, a bat came and landed next to Alex. "Greetings," the bat purred. "I am she known as Hera." This bat was a good 6 feet tall with beautiful brown fur. "I will be training with you." Alex smiled at the bat. "Well, already I can tell that you're good," Alex said. The bat replied, "Well, I've lived here longer." Hera and Alex laughed. Gregor commented, "You guys haven't even trained yet and you already seem like a good pair for bonding."

"Oh no, Gregor, I don't think I could be very much use to the Overlander," Hera said. "Don't be like that, Hera. You're a good flier and fighter. You'd be able to protect Alex easily. Alex is a rager, no doubt, so he'd be able to protect you just as easily, but first he'll need to learn a little something," Gregor said. "He is an Overlander, Gregor. Many of the enemies' forces will focus on killing him. I am unsure if I can handle it!" Hera looked a little nervous. She was shifting her position and fluttering her wings a lot. "What do you mean by bonding?" Alex asked. Gregor smiled and explained that "Bonding is promise to protect each other to the death." Well, that seems nice. Alex liked Hera, but he didn't think he would have to bond with anyone here. He had to get home and back to his family.

Alex climbed on to Hera and they immediately flew up. Alex was not a big fan of heights, but managed to keep his fear to a minimum. Alex didn't hang on for his life because he didn't feel himself sliding off and decided it was better if he kept that way. Hera and Alex flew around the arena, made sharp turns and even flipped around in the air a few times. Soon, Alex began to enjoy the flying. It felt great to fly around. "You bats must adore flying," Alex said. It was a pretty stupid comment, but it did get a conversation started. "Indeed. Flying is how we Fliers normally travel and we very much enjoy it."

After about half an hour, Hera landed and Alex climbed off. "That was pretty cool," Alex said. Then, something came up that shouldn't have ever been asked. "You're the king of Regalia, Gregor. Don't YOU have a bond?" Alex asked. Gregor stood there silently, a look of pain played across his face. Mareth looked a little pained too. He started pushing Alex out of the arena saying, "Let us go and eat." Alex turned to Hera and said, "Hey, Hera. Why don't you come with us?" Hera looked at Alex. "Why would you invite a bat you hardly know?" She asked. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that." Alex managed to talk Hera into joining them. The bat flew Alex up to the High Hall and they took a place around the table. Once again, Alex found Luxa, Ripred, and Gregor seated at the table. He saw a few others like Melcred and Aurora.

"Now," Gregor said. "Let's try this one more time. And Ripred, don't fight. Just sit there and stuff your face. Don't even talk!" he ordered. The old rat laughed. "Of course, King Gregor," he said sarcastically. "I promise to be a good little gnawer!" Luxa glared at Ripred then turned to Hera. "Greetings, Hera, what business do you have here?" She asked. "The Overlander asked me to join him." Hera responded nervously. Luxa turned to Alex and smiled. "Do you and Hera fare well, Alex?" She asked. Alex gave out a quick "Yes" and started eating. Gregor, Luxa, and Hera laughed. Alex didn't realize what they were laughing about until he noticed how quickly he was wolfing down his food. He hadn't eaten much for quite a while. Ripred scoffed and said to Gregor, "And you told ME to stuff my face?" This brought up another round of laughter.

After Alex was just about full, Luxa and Gregor led him down a hallway and stopped between a pair of doorways. A wonderful scent drifted in from the doorways. Gregor told Alex to head in and wash himself down. "We have to rid you of your Overland scent. It should take a merely a few days of eating our food and washing yourself down to do this." Alex nodded and walked in. He stripped down and got into the water. He washed himself about five times before he finally got out. He found that his clothes were gone and had been replaced by new clothes. He put them on and walked out, where Jillian waited nervously. "H-hello, Alex the Overlander. I'm here to lead you to your room," she told him and proceeded to take Alex through the many halls of the palace.

They finally reached a doorway with a curtain placed inside. Alex thanked Jillian and passed through the curtain into the room. He threw himself onto the bed immediately and drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 7**

Alex woke up feeling great except for the pain in his head from the fall he took. He walked out of the room to find Mareth and a woman he'd never met before. "You've finally awoken, Alex. Meet you, Perdita," he said. "Hey, what's up?" Perdita just nodded. "First you must wash yourself down again. Then we shall train again." Alex looked around and asked, "Would it be okay if I trained with Hera again?" Mareth nodded, smiling. They were just about to leave when an Underland woman came and tapped Mareth on the shoulder. "Nerissa, we weren't expecting you," He said. Nerissa attempted to smile. Damn, she looked fragile. "I wish to take the Overlander to the prophecy room," she told him.

"I do not believe that he should be told of the things that have occurred," Mareth told her. "He will be of more use to us if he does!" She responded. She grabbed Alex's hand and brought him all the way to the only wooden door in Regalia. She pulled a key out of her dress, unlocked the door, and opened it up to reveal a small room with words etched all over the place.

"What are they?" Alex asked. Nerissa took a deep breath before giving him her response. "These are the prophecies of the Underland. A number of them have already been unfolded, while others have yet to be fulfilled. Five prophecies had been unfolded by who is now the king of Regalia. Most Prophecies have been the result of the visions of Regalia's founder, Bartholomew of Sandwich. He had many visions of the future and many of those visions came true. Do not think him crazy or ill. He was a great prophet. I have visions as well, but my visions are not clear like his. I have written my own prophecies and I foresaw you in a vision. You are to partake in a quest very soon." She pointed to one of the prophecies etched into the wall and told Alex to read it. Alex started with the title of the Prophecy. What it read made Alex feel sick to the stomach. The words read "Prophecy of Death".


	8. Chapter 8

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 8**

Alex read the prophecy over again. The prophecy read:

_The Prophecy of Death_

_If the death of the fourth had decided the end,_

_When the warrior turned weak, but his heart then did mend,_

_When the remedy and the wrong entwined,_

_When the monster's blood was spilled,_

_One last quest must rule the fate_

_Of Over and Under and in between._

_Ten must decide if they stand or they fall_

_Into the cavern where Death reaps the war._

_Finally, finally, bring us to light_

_Or else reap us all with a blade so bright._

_Success and Triumph_

_Or Failure and Loss_

_Shall we bring hope or shall we be lost?_

_Cutters bring rage and hatred to all,_

_As there are none who would side on their call._

_The newcomer shall be the one to withstand_

_The course of the journey in the underland_

_Where death is the key that rests in his hands._

_Finally, finally, bring us to light_

_Or else, reap us all with a blade so bright._

_Ally or enemy,_

_Hated or loved._

_Shall we bring hope or shall we be lost?_

That's where it ended. Alex turned to Nerissa, who looked frailer than when she brought him here. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I pray for your life, Overlander," she said. "It doesn't exactly seem as bad as I thought it would be. I expected something so much grimmer." Nerissa just ushered him out of the room and gave him directions to the high hall. When he got there, he found a boy with jet black hair, green eyes, and pale skin. He must be another halflander. "Hello, Overlander. My name is Hazard. Luxa gave orders for me to take you to the museum. She would like to speak to you," he said. A bat flew in and landed between Alex and Hazard. It was Hera again. "Greetings, Alex," Hera purred. "Would it be necessary for me to bring you there?" Alex grinned and said, "Well, it isn't necessary, but I don't really feel like walking all the way there!" Alex hopped up onto Hera and looked at Hazard. "Hey, dude, are you coming?" Hazard frowned and replied, "No. If Hera is going to take you there, then there is no further need for me." And with that, the bat flew off.

"So, you guys have a museum? What kinds of things do you keep in there?" Alex asked, curiously. He'd been to a few museums before, but a museum in the Underland seemed interesting. "We keep items that have dropped from the Overland there," she explained. After arriving, Alex entered and found Luxa standing around with what looked like a photo in her hands. Alex gave out a cough to make it known that he had arrived.

She turned around quickly, hiding the picture behind her back. "You have arrived, Overlander. I have heard that Nerissa had brought you to the prophecy room. That must mean that she believes you are the newcomer in her visions. If that is true, then we must prepare you for the journey to come. Take anything you might need from the museum." Alex looked through the many shelves of the museum for what he might need. He spotted a couple of flashlights and some batteries grouped together on a shelf. He found a hiker's backpack on another and stuffed things into it. Eventually, he came across a viola sitting on one of the shelves. His mother once taught him how to play it and he knew his notes. He picked it up and stuffed it into the pack. Thankfully, the backpack was pretty big and could hold it well.

"Have you collected everything you think you might need?" Luxa asked. Alex nodded and followed her out of the museum. Eventually, they arrived in the arena again. There was a big group gathered in the center of the arena. Bats, rats, roaches, mice, spiders, and humans alike were talking amongst each other.

Alex gave a cough to show that he was here. They all stopped talking and took a look at him. "Hi!" Alex said nervously.

Alex approached the group. He turned around and found that Hera wasn't following him. "Hey, come on and join me. I don't want to be with a group with almost no one that I know!" Alex begged. Hera joined in with him and the others. Actually, Alex knew a few of the individuals in the group. Ripred, Luxa, Gregor, Jillian, and Melcred were there. "It's about time you decided to come by, pup!" Ripred exclaimed. Alex groaned, hoping that Ripred wasn't going to be joining him on the quest.

There were a few other individuals that Alex didn't recognize. There were two other bats, one with black and white fur and the other had a gold and black speckled coat. There were three other rats standing next to Ripred. There was a roach with a bent antenna standing next to a girl that looked to be at least twenty-one years of age. Finally, there was a black and red spider or as they called them down here, a Spinner.

"So, have you got everything for the journey ahead, Alex?" Gregor asked. "Yeah, I think so," Alex said. "Well, you better KNOW so, because the Underland is no place for an unprepared Overlander!" Luxa gave Gregor a smug half-smile. "Do not worry, Gregor. You will be there with him. He will be in good hands," she told him. Gregor grinned back at her and looked at the group. "Okay, now before we leave, we need to rule out who isn't coming. I, Ripred, Alex, Temp, Melcred, Jillian, and Nimble will go without question! That leaves three left to decide. "I think it would be safe for me to come along as well, Gregor." Someone entered the arena and joined the group. "Okay. Howard will be going, so I imagine that means that you will also be going, Nike?" Gregor asked the black and white coated bat. She simply nodded and replied, "I won't let my bond leave without me."

Only one more individual would be allowed to go. "If I may, Gregor, I would like to join Alex on this mission," Hera said. "Well, I guess we have our group! Everyone else must go home!" Gregor declared. Everyone except the ones going on the quest left the arena.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 9**

"What now?" Alex asked. Ripred turned to Alex and whipped his tail at the ground, making Alex flinch. He didn't want another blow to the head. "We head for the Firelands first!" Ripred groaned. Apparently the Firelands weren't a big favorite. Gregor went over to a weapon rack and grabbed two swords. He tossed one to Alex, who caught it clumsily. Alex turned around to find Nerissa standing before him with a scroll in her hands. "What's this?" He asked, taking it from her. "I have written the prophecy on this so that you may try to interpret it during your quest," she replied. "Oh, well, thanks, I guess!"

Everyone was ready to take off, the bat with the gold and black speckled fur stayed behind and Gregor, Jillian, and Ripred climbed on. "I thought we were only taking ten with us. How come there's a third bat? And why is Ripred coming?" Alex asked. "Ripred will only be with us for a short while and our mission must be done on foot, but it takes a while to get to the Firelands. That is the only reason Andromeda is coming as well," Gregor explained. "Well, what are you waiting for? Mount up!" Howard and Nimble the Spinner had climbed up onto Nike. Alex awkwardly climbed up onto Hera with Melcred sitting behind him. In a matter of seconds, they were up and in the air.

Alex turned to Melcred who looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" Melcred face immediately hardened. He turned away from Alex, muttering the word, "Nothing!" Alex turned forward and tried to make sense of his surroundings. As soon as they had left Regalia, it had gotten darker and hard to see and, after a few more minutes, was now pitch black.

Hera came to a stop after about an hour. Where they were now was dimly lit, but it was enough to see the surroundings. They landed at a place with a bunch of skeletons littering the ground and a huge amount of plant life behind a dangerous-looking archway. "Where are we?" Alex asked as he climbed off of Hera. "We're at the Arch of Tantalus!" Ripred exclaimed. Then, with much sarcasm, remarked that there were "So many good memories here!"

"We're only here to rest. After a few hours, I'll wake everyone up and we'll be on our way!" Gregor told everyone. "Oh no, _Your Majesty_! We all know that you've had a bad history with taking watch! I will take watch!" Ripred replied. Alex didn't like Ripred very much, but he felt safe when the rat was there. Alex used his backpack as a pillow and went to sleep. About twenty minutes later, he woke up to find an unfamiliar gnawer staring at him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Alex the Overlander Chapter 10**

Alex got up and moved away as fast as he could. He kept moving backward and eventually walked right into Ripred. "Calm yourself, boy! She won't do anything to you," he told him. The new rat laughed and asked him, "How are you so sure, Ripred. Have you forgotten that there's a Gnawer rebellion growing? How do you know I'm not one of them?" She asked. Ripred mockingly pretended that he had taken this into consideration before replying, "Because you've spent most of your time with the Overlander and my bond!"

The new rat nodded her head and began to gnaw on a spine she got from one of the skeletons. "Who are you?" Alex asked. The rat looked at him and took a sniff in his direction. She laughed again and told him that he "Doesn't have to be so scared!" which made Alex blush with embarrassment. How did she know? As if he read his thoughts, Ripred told him, "Twitchtip is a scent seer!"

"What's a scent seer?" Alex asked. "A scent seer is a special kind of individual that has an abnormally sensitive nose! She can smell anything, from shape to size to age to color. Hell, she can even smell emotion and secrets." Ripred just looked off as if that were nothing special. "You can smell all that? I don't believe it! Prove it to me," Alex told Twitchtip. Her sweet smile turned into a smug grin. She took a few sniffs in the air and told Alex, "Your baby sister is all the way back into the Overland, she's still asleep and sucking her thumb, she's wearing purple pajamas and she has drool running down her face. Her name is Sarah!" Ripred looked at Twitchtip with some interest this time. "That's much better than when you smelled where the Overlander's daughter was hiding!" He exclaimed.

Alex just stood there baffled. She really was as special as they said. All that information she got, she picked up by scent? He couldn't believe it. "So, you came, Twitchtip?" Gregor said, rubbing his eyes. "Yes, I wouldn't miss this for the entire Underland!" She exclaimed. Gregor approached Twitchtip and got down on his knee. "I'm glad you're here, Twitchtip."

When everyone woke up, they ate and mounted up on the bats and headed off. Alex hadn't gotten enough sleep at their stop, so he lowered his head onto Hera and let himself drift off to sleep. The next thing he knew, Gregor was announcing to everyone that they had arrived at their destination.


End file.
